Advanced Practice Pharmacy Clerkships: Ambulatory Care Clerkships

The University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics encompasses an academic medical center, multiple specialty and primary care clinics, 12 ambulatory pharmacies, and a wide array of innovative pharmacy services. We are a pharmacy department nationally recognized in the areas of clinical pharmacy practice, pharmacy leadership and residency training.

Student role: Extensive opportunities for medication regimen review and consultation; consultations on pediatric antibiotics and associated dose-checks, and plenty of opportunities for teaching patients how to use their new nasal spray or inhalers; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; nonprescription recommendations to patients; documentation and billing for pharmaceutical care; provide immunizations

Unique student opportunities: Opportunity to shadow physicians in clinic; participate in a refill protocol; electronic medical record utilization (access to labs and patient charts); great relationships with clinic providers; frequent drug questions from providers and topic discussion with pharmacists and residents; frequent interactions with doctors, nurses and residents; participation in MTM services and other WPQC interventions; Journal Club; free parking

Typical hours: Student hours are flexible; site is open from 9am-7pm, Monday to Friday and 9am-5pm on weekends

Student role: Comprehensive medication regimen reviews including reviewing the patient's electronic medical record (EMR) reconciling and verifying medications, diagnoses, lab values, and patient notes. Interact with clinic providers including physicians, nurses, medical residents, medical assistants, social workers, and other pharmacists. Direct patient interaction and mentored counseling on unique and specialty medication regimens. Participate in population health initiatives including blood pressure screening and administering immunizations such as influenza and zoster. Conduct MTM services (Level 1 and Level 2) in affiliation with WPQC and other available programs.

Unique student opportunities: Unique intimate retail pharmacy that promotes an environment where patients come to expect interaction with their pharmacist and pharmacy students. Opportunity to shadow in several clinics within and associated with the University Station Clinic (of the student's choice) including hemophilia, geriatrics, pediatrics, ophthalmology (including observing intravitreal injections), internal medicine, travel medicine and anticoagulation (pharmacist managed). Primary site preceptor has extensive pharmacy management training and experience and also serves as residency program director for the UWHC Community Pharmacy Residency program allowing for interaction with community residents and insight into the program. Collaborate with other students, residents and preceptors on site-specific patient care improvement projects.

Unique student opportunities: Shadowing activities with clinic providers; great relationships with faculty, residents and nursing staff; compounding and chemotherapy exposure can be arranged at a sister-site if desired; free parking

Typical hours: Student hours are flexible; site is open from 9am-7pm, Monday to Friday and 9am-5pm on weekends

Student role: Rotation will include expansion of clinical services at brand new DigestiveHealthCenter as well as operational projects surrounding new medication distribution systems; services will include patient education for specialty GI and surgery clinics, assistance with compliance management, prior authorization for high-cost specialty medications including infliximab and etanercept, extensive opportunities for medication regimen review, making recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers, answering physician drug information questions, and educational programs to providers

Unique student opportunities: New expansion of clinical pharmacy services and use of electronic medical record (access to labs and patient charts)

Student role: Intense role in patient consultation, with up to 30 patient interviews a day to discuss discharge medications while patients receive chemotherapy; frequent answering of physician questions on therapeutics and adverse effect management; opportunities to review and verify chemotherapy protocols; topic discussions on a variety of oncology topics; provide immunizations

Unique student opportunities: Access to the Electronic Medical Record used by the providers in the building provides valuable information regarding labs, medication histories, and patient information; use of interpreters both in person and via phone/iPad; opportunities to work with UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health medical residents as a team; exposure to integrative medicine practices; involvement with pharmacist in clinic activities; exposure and heightened awareness of psychosocial issues encountered by the unique patient populations served at the clinics in the building (homelessness, drug addiction, recovery, recent release from incarceration and reintegration into society, abuse situations, adult ADHD).

Typical hours: Pharmacy is open 9am-5:30pm (closed from 1-1:30pm), Monday to Friday

Student role: The student will play a role in the review of specialty pharmacy payment structure and working with pharmacists on the development of educational materials and counseling of specialty patients. Students will have opportunities to participate in WPQC interventions, vaccinations, contract review, documentation and billing for pharmaceutical care, and gain a comprehensive understanding of pharmacy reimbursement/drug procurement procedures.